The Supreme Court Rules on Union Dues and Contraception, Strikes Blows Against Workers and Women

Today, the Supreme Court concluded its session by handing down decisions in the vitally important Harris v. Quinn and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby cases—Quinn dealing with the ability of unions to raise money and Hobby Lobby dealing with the ability of corporations to claim 1st Amendment rights in order to refuse to cover birth control.

Unfortunately, as was feared by many, these two cases have become the most recent examples of situations where the five “conservative” (read: corporatist) justices on the court have ignored sanity, legal precedent, and the welfare of Americans to rule in favor of entrenched money.

Harris v. Quinn: Strangling Unions

In the Harris v. Quinn case, the Supreme Court ruled that partial public employees who gain the benefits negotiated by unions cannot be compelled to pay dues to those unions. In effect, this allows people to freeload off…